Epiphany
by Emmychao
Summary: HibikixKotone/EthanxLyra. All it takes is the first step of admitting you've got a problem, or in this case... feelings for your best friend. Everything after that comes naturally.
1. Epiphany

_Epiphany – A moment or event in which a character achieves a spiritual insight into life or into her or his own circumstances._

_I think... I'm in love with her…_

Nervously, I glanced down at my pokégear, hoping for some sign that she was still okay and well. The shrill ring of the device in question startled me out of my thoughts, and I frantically scrambled to answer the incoming call. My Marill looked up from the edge of the tall grass several feet away and made a squeak of curiosity.

"K-Kotone?"

"Ah, Hibiki! Guess what?"

"Uh," I glanced up and brought my knee up out of habit. My foot started to slowly slip off the rotting wood, but I didn't mind. "What?"

"I just got my sixteenth gym badge! Isn't that awesome?"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you." I looked at the afternoon sky and noted that there wasn't a cloud in sight. I hummed in approval and turned my attention back to my pokégear. "So, are you headed home?"

"Mmhm! Just as soon as I talk to Professor Oak. Then I'll fly straight home!"

I kicked off of the stump I was sitting on and nodded to my Marill. She gave an excited nod before running back to my side, almost tripping in her excitement. Wordlessly, I recalled her and called out Ho-Oh, my only pokémon capable of flight at the moment.

"I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah, see you, Hibiki!"

Click.

I mounted the legendary carefully and pointed out our destination. The firebird spread its wings proudly before taking to the azure sky with one great leap. One hand flew up to keep a firm hold on my favorite hat while the other kept a strong grip on the bird's thick neck. A smile broke out on my face as I imagined just how happy she would be when I saw her. Within minutes, New Bark Town was in sight and eventually under us. I patted Ho-Oh to remind it of our destination, and slowly, it began its careful descent.

Silently, I dismounted Ho-Oh and stroked its long, fine feathers. Just another thing I wanted to show her. While she was journeying through Kanto, I took the time to get my last Johto badge and go to Kanto myself. That was when I met up with a certain man in Pewter City and the kimono girls… But really, that was a story for another day. I called the great legendary bird back into its pokéball and sent Marill back out. She happily bounded back to my side and followed me into my house. My father looked up from his paper knowingly, his weathered eyes twinkling.

"Kotone's on her way back, is she?"

I gave a curt nod and quickly began the climb up to my room. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him shake his head slightly, though he was smiling.

"Why don't you just tell her you love her already, Hibiki?" he called after me teasingly. My hand stopped over the door handle, frozen in place. "Or better yet, just travel together. That way, you wouldn't have to keep coming back here to disturb me all the time." I could just barely pick out the smugness in his joking tone.

Not sure what to say in return, I finally entered my room and shut the door after me. Marill bounced into my vision and regarded me with concern. I shook my head with a smile and patted her head softly.

"No, he's right Marill."

She tilted her round body to the side in confusion.

"I… I do love her." I scratched my cheek from embarrassment at my own admission and stared at the window across the room. "I just don't know how to properly deal with those feelings. I mean, look at me: I drop everything I'm doing just to run back here for the chance to see her all the time. Are these feelings healthy if they're hindering my journey like this?"

Marill shook her head, grabbed a pokéball from my belt, and released Meganium. Marill seemed to be briefing her on the situation at hand, and soon enough, even she was shaking her head at me. I chuckled and brought both pokémon closer, so I could hug the two of them. They always reminded me of her with how much they encouraged me and helped me move forward.

"Hibiki?"

I released my two pokémon and turned to the girl in question with a smile.

"Kotone!"

Her arms went behind her back, and she leaned forward as she always did.

"I must have the best timing to always catch you at home!" she sang happily. "Maybe I have psychic powers?"

I wasn't about to burst her bubble and tell her that I always planned it that way. No, I was going to let her be content with that. As usual, she came to sit on the plush carpet in front of me. Her Typhlosion trailed in after her.

"So, how does it feel to be the champion of two regions?"

"Hmm?" She stopped in mid-stretch and quirked an eyebrow. "Not much different…"

I could tell the excitement was dying along with her talkativeness. I sank back, putting my weight on my hands and regarded her carefully. Kotone wasn't really the social type unless she was riled up about something. _"Actions speak louder than words,"_ she had told me once.

"Something missing?" I guessed. Her head snapped up as though I hit the nail right on the head. "Aha," I thought to myself.

"I guess so," she said quietly, bringing her knees up to her chin. There was something else she wanted to say.

"Keeping anything else from me?"

The way she tensed up told me I had gotten that right, too.

"Yeah," she started with a pout. We were best friends, so it was impossible to hide anything from each other.

"Theoretically," I pointed out in my mind. There were so many things I was hiding on my end that it almost seemed unfair. Almost.

"Professor Oak gave me permission to go to Mt. Silver."

"And?" I could tell that there was more to this than I thought.

"I-I…" she trailed off, her cheeks taking on a slight hue. "I don't want to go alone."

I raised an eyebrow at this. The champion had traveled across two regions by herself but couldn't take on a lone mountain?

"Want me to come along?" I teased. Her silence was somewhat disconcerting.

"Yes," she finally answered timidly. When she looked up at me, though, her eyes were pained. "But it's said to be so dangerous up there that you can only get permission to go there if you collect all of Kanto's badges…"

"I only have three left," I told her automatically. She blinked slowly, as though trying to comprehend what I had just said, so I rolled my eyes in response. "Contrary to what you probably think, I _have_ been journeying around myself, you know."

"B-but," she fumbled around with the hem of her trousers, obviously flustered. "You're always here whenever I pass by. It's almost as though… you never leave."

I let out a light laugh, much to her embarrassment and sank back into my Meganium. She seemed to be chuckling along with me. It was as though Kotone had forgotten just how often she called me with the pokégear whenever she did anything and vice versa. Soon enough, I gained my bearings and faced her flushed form with an air of seriousness.

"Don't you remember that time we ran into each other in Celadon City?" I reminded her. Her face only burned brighter.

"Y-yeah! I get it already!" She puffed her cheeks out at me and waved her fists at me in mock anger. Her Typhlosion growled at his trainer's distress behind her before fixing me with a warning glare. I gave the pokémon a playful smile in return and noted that he relaxed soon after.

"Getting back to the topic… I'd be happy to go with you if you didn't mind accompanying me on the rest of my journey…"

"Of course I don't mind."

I wasted no time in getting back to my feet and offered her my hand.

"Then let's go."

The spark between our hands was a painful reminder that I was hopelessly in love…

"And there isn't a thing I can do about it," I mumbled under my breath.


	2. Sentimentality

_Sentimentality – Unmerited or contrived tender feeling; that quality in a work that elicits or seeks to elicit tears through an oversimplification or falsification of reality._

"Wow."

"'Wow'? That's all?"

"Yep."

I stroked Ho-Oh's feathers again before letting out a small sigh. I was hoping for a bigger reaction than that. After all, I had caught and tamed a legendary bird.

"We match now."

"Hmm?" I looked over at her and noticed how her cheeks had darkened just a little as she unclipped a pokéball from her belt. The next thing I knew, there were two legendaries, side by side.

"See, you've got Ho-Oh, and I've got Lugia." Her eyes softened in that instant, and I could've sworn I saw – "But I think I'd like to ride back to Kanto with you."

Lugia was recalled in an instant.

"Kotone?" She pulled her hat down over her eyes.

"If it's okay with you…"

I knelt over slightly and held my arms out to her. She blinked up at me in confusion, which made me grin. It was just too cute.

"You'll need help up. Ho-Oh doesn't like to bend very much." I glanced up at the pokémon in question and added jokingly, "Lazy bum."

The legendary, however, didn't find it as funny and smacked my back lightly with its big wing, which sent me straight into Kotone. I vaguely remembered her small frame's bad balance as we went spiraling into the leaf-cushioned ground. She landed with small squeak while I had managed to keep my weight off of her. Immediately, I realized just how intimate our position was and scrambled off of her.

"S-sorry," I whispered and offered my hand out to my disheveled friend. She buried her flushed face into her hands and giggled before she accepted it. Then she looked pointedly at Ho-Oh and cleared her throat. "Yeah, and sorry to you, too."

That's when I saw it in her hair: a shiny golden leaf.

Without a second thought, I plucked the leaf out of her hair and regarded it with a soft smile. Kotone was always a magnet for these things, so when we were younger…

"Oh!" Kotone clapped her hands together excitedly and reached into her bag. "That's my fifth one. Remember what you said last time?"

"You want a crown that badly?" I chuckled, and she nodded her head vigorously in response.

"No one can make them as good as you!"

"Fine." I gave in and sat on the padded ground. "We're not going to Kanto until I'm done," I warned.

"Okay," she replied and joined me on the leafy floor. I definitely didn't expect her to want to delay but shrugged it off.

"_Hibiki! Hibiki!" I looked up to see my best friend with her hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath from the long climb up the hill. In those hands were bunches of golden leaves._

"_Kotone," I started with a tilt of my head, "what'cha got there?"_

_Azurill nudged me with a hint of excitement, though I wasn't quite sure why at the time._

"_Leaves!"_

"_Eh? Leaves?"_

"_Yeah! Leaves! Pretty leaves!"_

"_So…" I scratched my cheek, unsure of where this was going._

"_Can you make a crown for me out of them like you always do with flowers? Pretty please?"_

"_A leaf crown?" I frowned. "Why leaves?"_

"_Because they're so pretty!" she reiterated with a huff._

"_Fine." I gestured for her to sit still in front of me and set to work twisting the stems together. There was something odd about the leaves, though. It was as though nothing could tear them apart. Experimentally, I tried to tear one and realized that I couldn't. "Where'd you find these?"_

"_Hmm? In the grass…"_

"_You went in the tall grass?" I had to grip her shoulders to assure myself that she was still in front of me in one piece. "It's dangerous to go in without a pokémon, Kotone!"_

"_Then come with me next time," she shot back with a mischievous grin. I turned away before the infectious grin could spread to me and continued twisting the leaves together into a crown._

"_That's not like you, Kotone…" I whispered. The leaves were suddenly replaced with her smaller hands. I looked up and saw that her eyes were closed and that there was a small smile on her face._

"_Sorry, Hibiki."_

"_Kotone…"_

"_What?"_

"_Do you want that crown or not?" I smiled sheepishly. "I can't make it and hold your hands at the same time…"_

"_Whoops."_

_Once the crown was complete, I carefully placed it upon her head and scooted back to eye my handiwork._

"_Do you like it, Princess Kotone?" I asked in a teasing voice._

"_Yeah, but…" she stopped and gingerly touched the crown. "I think there's something missing…"_

"Hibiki?"

"Huh?" I snapped my head back up and saw Kotone's brows furrow.

"I asked if something was wrong. You've been staring at that leaf crown for a while."

I glanced down and realized that it was completely done.

"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

"What were you thinking about?"

I hesitated, and wondered if it was really okay to tell the truth. Ho-Oh nudged me slightly, and in that brief moment of contact, his thoughts seemed to invade mine.

"_Be truthful, young one."_

"Well, I was just thinking… if a princess has a crown, what else could she possibly be missing?" I made a point to pass the leaf crown to her.

"A prince," she answered automatically. Seconds later, her words seemed to sink in and her face turned a brilliant shade of red. "D-don't tell me you were thinking about – err, I mean, uh, never mind!"

Once again, I offered her my arms, and it took her a moment to realize why. I decided it would be best to get back to the task at hand rather than embarrass her further, as fun as that would've been.

"Ho-Oh," I reminded her. She nodded and climbed onto the bird's back with my help after placing the leaf crown on her Typhlosion and recalling him. Moments later, I joined her and turned halfway to see her. "You might want to hang on tight. Ho-Oh flies a little faster than most flying pokémon."

"Eh?"

Before I could elaborate, Ho-Oh did it on its own and took off without warning. Immediately, her arms wrapped around me with enough squeezing force to rival an Arbok.

"Don't worry. I won't let you fall," I reassured her as she clung to me for dear life. It took all of my willpower to keep from spilling out my heart to her right then.

"_And why is that?"_ I could hear Ho-Oh's genuine question in my mind.

"Now just isn't the best time," I thought solemnly. The pokémon seemed to scoff at my excuse, and I was once again grateful that Kotone wasn't on this mental battlefield.

"_Humans."_


	3. Motivation

_Motivation – The incentives or goals that, in combination with the inherent natures of characters, cause them to behave as they do._

"That was an intense battle!"

"Mmhm."

"Kotone?" I turned to face her fully and resisted the urge to grip and shake her shoulders. "Something wrong?"

"Not really…"

It seemed as though the closer we got to Mt. Moon, the quieter she got.

"I just have this feeling…"

"Feeling?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "What kind of feeling?"

"I-I'm not sure."

We were at the entrance to Mt. Moon, and she seemed to shake with anticipation. With a shrug, I tugged her along and pushed her in front of me at the first bend.

"Ladies first," I joked. That's when I saw him.

"S-Silver?" Kotone suddenly squeaked out, "What're you doing here? I thought –"

"So you're still hanging around Kanto," he commented idly, making his way over to us, but his attention seemed more focused on Kotone. I narrowed my eyes and stepped protectively in front of her. That's when he finally seemed to notice me. "You two know each other?"

"Yeah, so what?" I noticed the way Kotone shook behind me and how her face alternated between pale and flushed. "Are you here to fight me again?"

"Maybe," he answered with his usual cocky grin. He unclipped his first pokéball with a small hop backward. I was about to send Meganium out to face him, but Kotone stopped my arm with a sharp tug on my sleeve. I looked back at her curiously only to realize just how close her face was to mine.

"His first pokémon is a Sneasel, an ice and dark type," she whispered and stepped back. I smirked and sent Meganium out to the field anyway. Kotone gave me a look of confusion, but I ignored it. Silver laughed at his spot across the expanse and sent out his Sneasel just as Kotone said he would.

"Have you gone mad?" he taunted with a tilt of his head and hand over his shoulder. "Sending a grass type against an ice type?"

"Go Meganium!" I ordered coolly, ignoring his taunts. We've been through this situation plenty of times before. She gave me a nod before turning to face the Sneasel fearlessly.

After several minutes of heated battling (quite literally), I emerged victorious, much to Kotone's surprise and Silver's usual displeasure. Kotone tugged on my sleeve again to get my attention before Silver could reach us.

"Why didn't you use Ho-Oh? I know Meganium's sunny day and solar beam combo really did the trick, but…"

I patted her on the head out of habit, and her cheeks flared at the action. "Ho-Oh's a little too big to fight in here comfortably, don't you think?"

Before she could answer, Silver came between us.

"I guess you guys aren't normal trainers…" I didn't like how his eyes lingered on Kotone when he had just battled me. "My pokémon still need more training! I'll continue getting stronger in the Dragon's Den, then."

He took off in the opposite direction, definitely not seeming like the Silver I had come to know. I glanced down at Kotone and noticed she had finally relaxed. Without any hesitation, my hand acted on its own and went to rest on her shoulder and pull her closer. I had no idea why I was suddenly bothered by the boy I had come to proudly call my rival.

"… really don't like him," I heard her mumble, calling my attention back to her.

It had suddenly occurred to me.

"How do you two know each other?" I asked, noting the way she tensed once again under my grip.

"H-he's just some jerk I fight every now and then…"

"That's not all there is," I commented knowingly, meanwhile leading us out of the dark cave.

Once the warm sunshine hit our skin, she spoke again, "Well, actually, he's really changed… He's not as big a jerk as he used to be."

Something stirred uncomfortably inside me from the way she suddenly defended him.

I dropped the topic right after that, and soon enough, we were in the bounds of Cerulean City on our way to the gym. The moment we stepped inside, though, Kotone groaned. I turned to her with the intention of asking why, but she beat me to it.

"She's on another date on the cape. We're going to have to go get her."

"Date, huh?" I could feel my mind going into overdrive, imagining myself on a date with Kotone. My face grew warm with that train of thought, and I had to shake myself back to reality. We walked to the bridge in relative silence, our starters trailing behind us. Halfway across, I saw a couple happily chatting and cuddling up to each other and was once again reminded of how Silver had treated Kotone earlier. I grumbled silently from the reminder of his changed attitude and reached out to grab her hand.

"H-Hibiki?" she squeaked out with a sidelong glance at me. I just gave her hand an affectionate squeeze and tugged her along behind me.

"Come on, you slowpoke," I teased, pulling her across the bridge. She just stumbled behind me with stuttering cries of "Wait up!" and "Hey!" We made it through the forest and to the cape faster than we expected. And, just as Kotone had said earlier, Kasumi was a little ways ahead on what appeared to be a date.

"Come on," she imitated, trying to drag me forward with her. "Let's hurry and tell her that you want a match…"

"No."

"Huh, and why no –" I interrupted her question by impulsively pulling her to my chest. "Hibiki? What are you doing?"

"Hugging you." I tightened my grip until I could feel her pounding heart against mine. Truthfully, I just suddenly didn't think it was fair to interrupt Kasumi. Gym leaders had little free time as it was anyway. "Hey, stop squirming."

"'Stop squirming'? Hibiki!" she hissed quietly. "I swear!" Kotone looked away with a huff and very red face. I couldn't help but smirk and take advantage of the situation. She wasn't beating me away, after all. I started leaning in unbeknownst to her, and when she finally whipped her head back to me, we both widened our eyes in surprise.

Our lips collided.

Immediately, we pulled away, as if burned by the contact. Tentatively, we mirrored each other's reaction and reached up to touch our lips. I had the sudden urge to lean in again, but Kotone's voice stopped me.

"D-did we just – I mean, um, ah," she stuttered in a high voice. Her hands moved to cup her rosy cheeks. "Hi-Hibiki, does this mean that –"

"I'm a very jealous person."

"Hah?" Kotone's jaw dropped suddenly, and I couldn't help but smile playfully at her like I always did. "Jealous of what?"

"Oh? What do we have here?" I snapped my head away from Kotone's cute, flushed face and saw one very smug gym leader. "I guess this is my cue to interrupt you, right?"

"Mou! Kasumi, that's not fair!" Kotone pouted at the older girl and suddenly thrust a finger in my direction. "I was totally going to drop in on you earlier, but Hibiki told me not to. So!" She made a gesture of setting something aside. "You should be thankful."

"Whatever… Hmm?" Kasumi turned toward me and raised an eyebrow. "And who's he?"

"Your next challenger!" Kotone answered confidently for me. Kasumi's smile only seemed to grow bigger at that answer.

"Sounds like you've got a lot of confidence in him," she commented more to herself than anything. "Well, let's see what he's got."


End file.
